News Archive

Last night, Occupy K Street-DC erected a wooden structure, a "People's Pavilion," at their main encampment in McPherson Square. According to Occupiers, the structure will be used as a warm place (designed to be heated by a novel sustainable energy source: water bottles that collect and store solar heat) for General Assemblies, teach-ins, and other community building purposes.

They have also said that the structure represents the needs of the 99% who are being left houseless by economic inequality. The People' Pavilion is a symbol of all homes stolen by banks and corporate greed, right on K Street -- in front of the Wall Street lobbyists who buy the politicians on Capitol Hill. Or, as one Occupier said: Read More...

Last night, Portland Police used violent force to evict Shemanski Park. Photos and live footage show police in full riot gear aggressively taking down nonviolent protesters. Among other incidents, one 15 year old was smashed in the face with a baton. Undaunted, Occupiers took to the streets, routed lines of riot police, and marched on City Hall. As revelers joined in and the protest continued to grow, the march stopped downtown for a dance party and then returned to Shemanski to defend their new home while celebrating with more dancing and pizza. Proving that our determination cannot be halted, most police had left the scene and Occupy Portland continues to hold public space as of 9am EST (6am PST). Read More...

Occupy Portland has reoccupied a new home. Marchers arrived at Shemanski Park at the corner of SW Park & Salmon around 5pm PST today and began setting up tents, canopies, and other infrastructure. Two police with batons arrived and threatened the crowd, but were shouted down by the jubilant Occupiers and eventually left. There is an open kitchen and live music on stage. As of 6:30pm PST, there were already over 20 tents set up.

There will be a General Assembly at 7pm PST. Occupy Portland is anticipating an eviction and encourages all supporters in the area to join them in peaceful, nonviolent solidarity tonight! You can also follow @OccupyPdx and @OccupyOregon on Twitter.

Like other occupations across the country, Occupy Portland has recently experienced police repression and was evicted from their original encampment. However, as in other cities, Occupiers have not allowed this to deter their efforts to protest economic inequality. In Portland, supporters have been organizing mobile flash mobs on bicycles to "bike swarm" banks. Meanwhile, Occupations in Los Angeles, Boston, and elsewhere marched today. In Philadelphia, Occupy Philly marched to proclaim: "You Can't Evict an Idea."

On Saturday, December 3, in Liberty Plaza, we—THE OWS HUNGER
STRIKERS—began a hunger strike. We are striking to demand outdoor
space for a new occupation. We are holding our strike at Duarte Square
on Sixth Avenue and Canal Street in Manhattan as part of a continued
effort seeking sanctuary on Trinity Church’s unused land.

This is a call for escalation, in response to the escalated levels of
government-enacted violence and repression The Occupy Movement has
endured over the last few weeks. In dozens of cities across the
nation, Mayors chose to stifle freedom of speech and the right to
assemble by evicting peaceful occupations using illegal and and
unconstitutional force. Here in New York, on the night of November 14,
the City—under orders from Mayor Bloomberg—violently evicted our
community from Liberty Square.